Tory pledge to scrap Human Rights ActThe Conservatives will scrap the Human Rights Act if re-elected, in a move that would pave the way to Britain leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, Theresa May said.

Theresa May told the Conservative conference that from now on, Britain “should deport foreign criminals first and hear their appeal later” Photo: PHIL NOBLE/REUTERSBy Holly Watt, Whitehall Editor9:46PM BST 30 Sep 2013The Home Secretary’s announcement is likely to raise concerns among the Liberal Democrats, as well as among several senior Tories.

But Mrs May dismissed the fears, saying that Labour and the Lib Dems “will have to explain why they value the rights of terrorists and criminals more than the rights of the rest of us”.

Mrs May told the Conservative conference that from now on, Britain “should deport foreign criminals first and hear their appeal later” and added that she would be reducing the appeal rights available.

“At the moment, the system is like a never-ending game of snakes and ladders, with almost 70,000 appeals heard every year,” said Mrs May.

Appeal rights for foreign criminals will be reduced from 17 to four. One of the grounds for appeal is the “right to a family life”, which Mrs May said had become a “free-for-all”.

David Cameron admitted in an interview at the weekend that leaving the ECHR was an option Britain could pursue. Mrs May said the system was failing Britain. “That’s why the next Conservative manifesto will promise to scrap the Human Rights Act. And it’s why the Conservative position is clear — if leaving the European Convention is what it takes to fix our human rights laws, that is what we should do.”

Mrs May finally won her battle to deport the radical cleric Abu Qatada to Jordan in July, after a bruising fight with the European Court of Human Rights. “I admit I was crazy,” said Mrs May. “Crazy with the European Court of Human Rights, and I know I wasn’t the only one.”

Her attack on the ECHR was echoed by Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, in his speech to the conference.

He said human rights law was written by Conservatives in the 1950s as a response to Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, and added: “Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined it would end up where it has, twisted by political correctness, with the all-too-familiar yob’s catchphrase, 'I know my rights’.”

Mrs May and Mr Grayling face disagreement within the Cabinet. Yesterday, Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, insisted that leaving the ECHR “could be interpreted as a sign that Britain is not interested in creating a better world”.

“If we leave it then we have to take the international reputational consequences of doing so,” he said.

Read more at Telegraph Politics, our comprehensive hub for breaking news, analysis and comment on politics.

AN UNEASY PEACE

There was no grenade-throwing in Boris's speech to Tory conference today, only the mildest of mischief-making about a French politician who was once a mayor and PM at the same time. He spent most of it addressing "Dave" directly, who was chuckling away in the audience. And we hear the two men even had a big hug afterwards. What's got into him?

There are a couple of theories. First, he may be panicking. At a fringe event last night, when asked if he'd stand down as Mayor of London after his term ends in 2016, Boris said: "A man's got to know his limitations. You've got to be realistic about your shelf life."

Does he feel that he's reaching his Best Before date - that his party will forget him, or consider that his chances of remaining front-runner until some time into the next Parliament are slim? Has he desperately reached out to David Cameron for help?

Fans of Boris would say that the Prime Minister is being played like a fiddle, and they'd probably favour a slightly different theory: that David Cameron and he have come to some sort of gentlemen's agreement - shades of Blair and Brown in 2005 - and that the PM will one day anoint Boris as his successor in return for shows of loyalty in the meantime. Certainly Mr Cameron's remarks hint at that. "When he wants to come back to the House of Commons, if he wants to come back, he'll get a warm welcome from me," he told Five News today.

Whatever the reality is - and it could be a mixture of the theories above - it's an uneasy truce. How long will Boris's loyalty last if Mr Cameron finds himself in trouble, or sinking in the polls? What happens if, say, Ukip triumphs in next year's Euro elections...

Michael Deacon sketches Boris's speech here.

TEARS FOR GOVE

A mother whose child attends a free school that opened last year broke down in tears on stage at Tory conference as she described how her son had been transformed by his school. Jo Morey, a mother of three, said she was enormously proud of her son Cashal. "His education progression has been outstanding," she said. Hanky for the Education Secretary, please.

BREAD LINES

David Cameron walked into an elephant trap this morning. What's the cost of a "value" loaf of white bread, he was asked on LBC radio? A flummoxed Mr Cameron guessed "well north of a pound", when the actual price was 49p. Then he started digging. The Prime Minister explained that he has "breadmaker" at home and there's nothing better than coming home to a "wonderful smell wafting through the kitchen". He urged listeners to buy an artisan flour called "Cotswold Crunch", which costs £4.40 for a 1.5kg bag, and a £100 Panasonic breadmaker. It was Nadine Dorries who once called the PM and his team "posh boys who don't know the price of milk". Did she have a point?

On Twitter, Mr Cameron said he "enjoyed" his morning media round, but it didn't stop Labour calling him "out of touch". One shadow minister commented: "Cameron gives a whole new meaning to 'upper crust' by saying he doesn't know the price of a loaf."

Boris handled it better. Asked the same question by the Telegraph, he replied: "Value bread? It depends: 50p, 49p, I don't know. I can tell you the price of a bottle of champagne - how about that?"

RED RALPH

Politicians closed ranks after Ed Miliband accused the Daily Mail of smearing his father, the Marxist academic Ralph Miliband. David Cameron admitted he hadn't read the offending article or the Labour leader's response (published by the newspaper today), but said: "If anyone had a go at my father I would want to respond vigorously." Nick Clegg tweeted: "Politics should be about playing the ball, not the man, certainly not the man's family."

RING-FENCE END?

Asked if the current ring-fencing around the aid and health budgets would continue if the Tories win the 2015 general election outright, George Osborne said: "We may go with the same decisions we took in this Parliament - they were driven by our values. But we have not made those decisions yet. They will be ones for the manifesto." Intriguing.

OSBORNE'S CUT

Michael Gove was the only person who spotted what was really going on with George Osborne's new haircut, the Chancellor told a fringe meeting. "He said: 'You have applied your economic policy to your hairstyle. You have turned it around to stop the recession.'"

WEALTH-SAPPING

Britain must protect high earners from tax rises as new research has found that just 30,000 people pay almost 10 per cent of all income tax, a minister has said. David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary, said: "We need to make sure we have a tax system that encourages entrepreneurs and wealth creators." How about cutting the 45p tax rate?

NHS WATCHDOG

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, wants the NHS regulator to act as "the nation's chief whistle-blower on health". The Care Quality Commission should have a standalone status like that of the Bank of England, he told Tory conference. This would "stop politicians ever attempting to suppress or cover up poor care again" (did you hear that, Andy Burnham?). This statutory independence would require a change in the law - and soon, he says.

TOP TWEET

Good point from the FT's Juliet Samuel:

It made me smile that Ed Miliband dismisses his father's views at 17 as "adolescent" but wants to give 16-year-olds the vote